Apple Invests in Solar Farm for Nevada Data Center

A mock-up of the solar array Apple is building for its Nevada data center.

By Ian Sherr and Cassandra Sweet

Apple is building a new data center in Nevada that will be powered by a large, new solar array, in one of the largest renewable energy investments by the company so far.

The Cupertino, Calif., company said Monday it plans to build a solar farm in Nevada’s Washoe County that can generate up to 20 megawatts of power, in partnership with NV Energy, the local utility that is in the process of being bought by MidAmerican Energy Holdings, a unit of Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway. SunPower, a solar-panel maker and solar-project developer, will build the solar farm.

Apple said that the solar project is part of a company-wide plan to power its U.S. facilities with renewable energy. Generally, companies use a mix of direct power deliveries from solar, wind or other renewable-power facilities and by purchasing renewable-energy credits to “offset” conventional power use to meet such goals.

Apple didn’t disclose how much it is investing in the Nevada project. But the cost is likely to be similar to Apple’s other major data center in North Carolina, which cost about $1 billion.

“All of Apple’s data centers use 100% renewable energy, and we are on track to meet that goal in our new Reno data center using the latest in high-efficiency concentrating solar panels,” Apple said.

“When completed, the 137-acre solar array will generate approximately 43.5 million kilowatt hours of clean energy, equivalent to taking 6,400 passenger vehicles off the road per year.”

Apple said the project will take about eight months to complete, and that the data center will employ about 35 people annually, increasing to 41 people by 2016.

The iPhone maker has been trying to build out a network of data centers to support its Internet services, such as iCloud and iTunes, while also keeping its promises to be environmentally friendly. Apple regularly touts the recyclability of its devices, and has recently been talking up a pledge to run completely off renewable energy. The company has said it will meet that goal by reducing its own energy needs, using renewable energy when possible and purchasing whatever else it needs with grid-purchased renewable energy.

Apple is not alone in cultivating a green image. Indeed, its efforts have similarities to clean-energy investments made over the years by rival Google.

The Internet giant has spent or pledged more than $1 billion on solar, wind and other renewable energy projects, according to the company. Those investments include $200 million in January for a 160-megawatt Texas wind farm built by EDF Renewable Energy; $280 million announced in June 2011 for the installation of home rooftop solar-panel systems developed by SolarCity; and $94 million announced in December 2011 in four solar farms, with a total capacity of 88 megawatts, built near Sacramento, Calif., by Sharp’s Recurrent Energy unit. Investment firm KKR also invested in the Sacramento solar farms

MidAmerican Energy said in May that it planned to acquire NV Energy, Nevada’s largest utility, for about $5.6 billion in cash. MidAmerican said that NV Energy would continue its utility operations and also would expand into renewable energy development, as MidAmerican has.

Greenpeace, which has tussled with Apple in the past on issues that include including its North Carolina data center, said Monday that Apple was keeping its promises about renewable energy.

“The detailed disclosure that Apple gave today can give confidence to Apple’s millions of users that the company is powering its corner of the Internet with clean energy,” said Greenpeace spokesman David Pomerantz in a statement.